B. LITC PROGRAM OFFICE EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF NEW GRANT APPLICATIONS AND…

i. LITC Program Office Evaluation

New Grant Applications that earn a score of 50% or more during the technical evaluation will undergo a secondary evaluation by the LITC Program Office. The secondary evaluation will be based on the information contained in the application and the applicant’s performance history in the LITC Program, if applicable. The LITC Program Office will also review and evaluate Continuation Requests for progress on program delivery. LITC reviewing officials are subject to recusal if participation in an evaluation would cause a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest; in this circumstance, another staff member will be identified to conduct the review.

Evaluation of New Grant Applications

The LITC Program Office will consider:

n Quality of the proposed program;

n History of performance under LITC grants in prior years, if applicable;

n Soundness of the proposed budget; and

n Any significant concerns identified during the technical evaluation.

Evaluation of Continuation Requests

The LITC Program Office will review all Continuation Requests. A risk assessment will be conducted for each applicant to determine whether the applicant has responsibly managed federal funds and is likely to continue to do so.

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The proposed budget, any audit findings, and the applicant’s performance history in the LITC Program will be considered in assessing the risk. The performance history includes:

n Timeliness, accuracy, and completeness of Interim and Year-End reports;

n Any significant concerns identified by the LITC Program Office and how the grant recipient addressed

those concerns;

n Whether the grant recipient’s past activities match its program plan;

n Whether the grant recipient has a history of not spending all the funds awarded; and

n History of any failure(s) to deobligate unspent funds promptly.

If risks are identified, the Continuation Request will receive a new review. As a part of that review, the National Taxpayer Advocate (unless recused) may determine whether conditions or additional monitoring are needed to mitigate the risk or whether the Continuation Request should be denied. If no serious concerns are identified after a risk assessment is conducted and any changes to the proposed program are minor, the Continuation Request will be approved. The amount of funding awarded will be subject to approval and may be limited by the amount of the congressional appropriations for Grant Year 2027.

Additional Considerations

Whether to award grant funds will be based on the technical evaluation (for New Grant Applications), the LITC Program Office evaluation, and the following additional considerations:

n Existence of other clinics in the applicant’s geographic coverage area assisting the same population of taxpayers;

n Scope of services that the clinic will provide;

n The number of low-income and ESL taxpayers who will be assisted;

n Languages in which assistance will be provided to taxpayers;

n Reasonableness of funds sought for the quantity and quality of services to be offered;

n Other sources of funding available to the clinic;

n The sources of matching funds that the clinic plans to use;

n Anticipated funding available to the LITC Program Office for grant awards;

n Any non-compliance with all federal tax and nontax obligations, and national policy requirements. See Section

III.C.iii, Compliance with Federal Tax and Nontax Requirements; and

n All other factors being equal, which organization has a lower rate for indirect costs.

For organizations that are requesting federal funds to provide representation by referring taxpayers to qualified representatives, award decisions will also consider:

n The qualifications of the representatives who have agreed to accept pro bono case referrals from the LITC; and

n The ability of the organization to monitor case referrals and ensure that the pro bono representatives are

handling the cases properly, including taking timely case actions and ensuring services are offered for free.

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APPLICATION REVIEW

Academic clinics that carry the additional responsibility of teaching and mentoring students may represent fewer taxpayers than non-academic clinics; however, academic clinics can accomplish LITC Program goals in a variety of additional ways, such as:

n Providing technical assistance;

n Training and mentoring other LITCs;

n Publishing articles about the LITC Program or on tax topics that impact low-income and ESL taxpayers;

n Commenting on proposed Treasury regulations that affect low-income or ESL taxpayers; and

n Mentoring graduates and encouraging them to perform pro bono work on behalf of low-income and ESL

taxpayers.

All information supplied by the applicant may be verified by the LITC Program Office using additional sources, including but not limited to the applicant’s website, websites providing accreditation information or licensure status, state boards, or the Office of Professional Responsibility.

Final Funding Decision

Funding recommendations are made by the National Taxpayer Advocate and final approvals are secured from Treasury, Assistant Secretary for Management (ASM), or Treasury ASM designee. In recusal situations where the National Taxpayer Advocate has a potential or actual conflict of interest with an applicant, the Deputy National Taxpayer Advocate shall assume the National Taxpayer Advocate’s role in making the funding recommendation for that applicant.

ii. Civil Rights Compliance Reviews

All New Grant Applications that receive a ranking panel score of 50% or higher and all Continuation Requests undergo a civil rights compliance review by the IRS to ensure compliance with civil rights laws. Department of Justice regulations state that all federal agency staff determinations of civil rights compliance shall be made by or be subject to review by the agency’s civil rights office. In addition, a Department of the Treasury grant recipient must maintain records, provide information, and afford Treasury access to records to the extent Treasury finds it necessary to determine whether the recipient is compliant with civil rights laws and regulations. For details about the various civil rights laws applicable to federal grant recipients, see Section VI.D.i, General Compliance.

The IRS will review all grant applications meeting the above-referenced criteria. To the extent necessary to make a civil rights compliance determination, the LITC Program Office may request that an applicant provide additional information that is readily available or can be compiled in a reasonable manner. Examples of such data and information include but are not limited to:

n The manner in which services are or will be provided by the program and related data necessary for

determining whether any persons are or will be denied such services on the basis of prohibited discrimination;

n The population eligible to be assisted broken out by race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability; and

n The location of existing or proposed facilities connected with the program and related information adequate

for determining whether the location has or will have the effect of unnecessarily denying access to any persons based on prohibited discrimination.

Upon completion of the application reviews, the IRS will forward to the LITC Program Office a preliminary civil rights determination based on the information in the New Grant Application, Continuation Request, and any other information the IRS received from the grant recipient. If an applicant has provided incomplete information, the LITC Program Office may request additional information from the applicant. No LITC grant funding may be awarded until the IRS has made its final determination.

The IRS annually conducts selected post-award reviews to ensure civil rights requirements are in place and to provide technical assistance. The IRS will contact grant recipients directly to schedule the reviews. The following are examples of civil rights compliance items addressed during post-award reviews:

n External building accessibility ( e.g., accessible entrances, curb cuts, sufficient parking spaces for persons with

disabilities);

n Interior accessibility ( e.g., signage for emergency routes, routes to and within the service area, sufficient seating

in the service area, restrooms, water fountains, elevators);

n Non-discrimination policies ( e.g., Publication 4053, Your Civil Rights Are Protected, displayed in service areas;

the organization’s non-discrimination policy posted and disseminated in marketing materials); and

n Accommodations for persons with disabilities ( e.g., sign language interpreters; Braille/large print documents).

The results from the selected post-award reviews are compiled into a report and provided to the LITC Program Office.

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Award Administration